


Silver Snowflower

by Spunky0ne



Category: Bleach
Genre: M/M, Toshiro mpreg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-13 08:08:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16888797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spunky0ne/pseuds/Spunky0ne
Summary: Toshiro gets the surprise of a lifetime when his body begins to resonate with that of a thought-to-be-dead Gin. Byakuya's research of the matter reveals something astonishing about Gin that will impact all of Soul Society…yaoi, mpreg





	1. The Calling

“Are you feeling all right, Taicho?” Rangiku asked, looking over at her scowling leader, who hunched slightly as he sat at his desk, poring over a mission report, “Your face is a kinda flushed and you look like you can’t sit still. Are you feeling all right?”

“Am I feeling all right?” he repeated, “No, not really. You should be doing this report, not me. And besides, the way things are, I don’t know how anyone would feel all right.”

Rangiku’s fingers tapped lightly on her cheek as she frowned, trying to understand. Toshiro’s scowl deepened.

“Come on, I think you know what I mean,” he said shortly, “We were just briefed on the situation a short time ago.”

Rangiku thought for a moment longer, then her pretty face registered comprehension.

“Oh, that!” she acknowledged, “You mean about the…”

“Shh!” he hushed her, waving her words off with strident hands, “That is not to be repeated.”

The red-haired fukutaicho crossed her arms and frowned back at him.

“Well, then maybe if we shouldn’t be talking about it, you shouldn’t be bringing it up,” she suggested, giving him a meaningful look.

“Eh, you asked what was wrong with me,” he complained, “What was I supposed to say? It’s not like I revealed anything really.”

“It is pretty scary,” Rangiku mused, looking up at the ceiling as though she was looking through it to the skies above them, “knowing about that.”

Toshiro followed the path of her eyes.

“Yeah,” he agreed in a lower voice, “it is.”

He sighed more deeply and raised a privacy barrier around them. Rangiku watched and tilted her head slightly in askance.

“Well, if you’re going to bring it up and you want to talk about it, it’s best to make sure no one hears.”

“Right,” she agreed, “You know, I keep having dreams about Ywach coming to life again.”

“That’s reasonable, given the circumstances,” Toshiro acknowledged, “He is radiating that powerful reiatsu even though he’s dead.”

“So, how do they know he’s _really_ dead?” Rangiku said anxiously.

Toshiro shrugged.

“I guess Squad Zero can tell,” he said uncertainly, “I hope they’re right. But anyway, they said that they were going to try to do something about that situation.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Rangiku said, perking up a little, “They were looking for some old artifact, weren’t they?”

“The king’s prism,” Toshiro provided, “It’s a crystal prism that is said to contain the souls of the past kings and their consorts. The king’s prism was used to reincarnate the king whenever his spirit needed renewal or if he was killed. Kuchiki researched it in his family archive, and he revealed to us that as the last king died, he threw the king’s prism into the soul well where he stores all of the souls that he creates to go to Soul Society. Someone may have been born with the prism attached to his or her soul. If so, we need to figure out who it is.”

“Well,” Rangiku said, considering, “since the king was just killed in the war, that person wouldn’t be born yet, right? Or maybe they were just born?”

Toshiro shook his head.

“You forget,” he corrected her, “The king that Ywach is responsible for killing wasn’t the real king. He was just an imposter, the quincy king before Ywach, who tried to steal the throne in the war a thousand years ago. He was not killed, but he was badly injured as he killed the rightful king. He was overpowered by our forces, so to escape death, he agreed to imprisonment and to keeping the balance of souls. The king’s prism, if it still exists, would have been sent into the soul well around a thousand years ago, and there is no telling when it might have attached itself to a soul. I assume that would be a matter of fate.”

“Yeah, that’s a hell of a fate, isn’t it? How does the prism get out? Does it just take over the person? Does the person have to die or something? That’s kinda creepy.”

“Very creepy,” Toshiro agreed, shaking his head and mussing his white hair, “The whole story isn’t known, but it indicates that there would be someone chosen to do something with the prism and that’s how a new king would emerge. Byakuya is still looking for more details, but it’s hard to find much on that…which makes sense, because the knowledge would need to be kept from the enemies of the king, who wouldn’t want there to be a rebirth.”

“You mean the quincies?” Rangiku asked, “But haven’t they been pretty much neutralized?”

“For the moment,” Toshiro admitted, “Ywach, himself, finished off what Sternritters were left, so there aren’t many powerful quincies, and the ones who survived retreated to the shadows. However, you know that there is a quincy left who is not only powerful enough to succeed Ywach, he is Ywach’s named successor. I’m actually surprised that Central 46 didn’t do anything to contain him. Even though he abdicated the position and went back to the living world, it is possible that he could someday try to retrieve the remaining power in Ywach’s body. After all, he is Kurosaki’s boyfriend, and Ichigo would probably be able to get him into the royal realm if he was convinced it was right to do so.”

“If Ichigo and Uryu knew that Ywach’s dead body was being kept there and used to keep the soul balance,” Rangiku concluded, “That’s probably why Central 46 isn’t letting anyone but the taichos and fukutaichos in on it, and they’ve sworn everyone to secrecy about the whole thing.”

“That’s part of the reason,” Toshiro affirmed, “although another important part is that they don’t want the commoners in an uproar about the end of the world coming or something. To keep everyone calm, we are just being told to say that there is a new king on the throne.”

“We’re just not telling everyone it’s a dead king.”

“Right.”

The two looked up as a hell butterfly floated in through the privacy shield.

“What the heck?” Rangiku mused.

 _Toshiro_ , Shunsui’s smooth voice said from within the hovering butterfly, _we’ve just had word from Central 46 about a situation in the Rukongai. There are reports that a man staggered into one of the towns there. According to our people in the area, his reiatsu and appearance match the identity of Ichimaru Gin._

“What?” Toshiro gasped.

Rangiku’s face went white.

“B-but…but that’s not possible!”

XXXXXXXXXX

“I’m not gonna ask you again, you trash,” Ikkaku snapped, glaring at the filthy, ragged looking silver-haired man who was kido bound to a chair in front of him, “How in the hell are you alive? I know damned well that Central 46 confirmed your death, and that Rangiku brought you down here to be buried after that. You look half dead even now. So, tell me what happened, before I get pissed off and just put you back in that fucking grave!”

“Did you think of checking the grave instead of beating up on me?” Gin asked, grimacing, “because, while you won’t find me there, you might find some clues. I told you already, I don’t know what happened or how. I just remember crawling into town and being found by you. I don’t have anything to hide.”

Gin gave an agonized grunt, doubling over as the eleventh division officer punched him in the stomach.

“Ugh, I kinda wish I’d had the presence of mind to not crawl right to you,” he complained, “You don’t have very good manners.”

“Oh,” Ikkaku sneered, “you don’t like the warm reception we’re giving you? Then, if you don’t like it, just give me the goddamned truth and we’ll spare you anymore of a beating.”

“Maybe you should just stop playing with him and kill him again,” Yumichika suggested, giving his lover an annoyed look, “This is so ugly.”

“Well, it’s gonna get uglier,” Ikkaku growled, rounding on Gin again, “Why don’t you go for a walk while I take care of this?”

“Oh, would if I could, you know, but I’ve had a hell butterfly from Kyoraku Sotaicho, and he wants the little snake here kept alive for questioning. He’s sending a team to escort Gin back.”

“Maybe they’ll give you a cell in Muken right next to your buddy, Aizen!”

“That wouldn’t be my first choice,” Gin said dryly, “although, I just know if I was put that close to him, he’d at least not kill me for long enough to craft a plan for us to escape. Maybe it’s not good to put us close together. Too much incentive for him to misbehave, you know.”

“Do you _ever_ shut up?” Ikkaku complained, drawing back and striking the former taicho across the face, “Knock it off, all right?”

“A moment ago, you wanted me to talk,” Gin said saucily, not reacting at all to the blood running down from a cut on his cheek, “Now, you hit me to make me be quiet? How am I supposed to figure out what you really want?”

“Gah! That’s it! I’m killing the bastard!”

“Oh, don’t do anything too gory,” Yumi sighed, “It’ll be hard to clean up before Hitsugaya taicho and his guys get here.”

“Toshiro?” Ikkaku repeated, scowling, “Why are they sending him and not our taicho? We’re the ones who caught this asshole!”

“Eh, it wasn’t so much catching as me falling into your laps,” Gin mused.

Yumi gave a sarcastic chuckle.

“You think that, after what this animal did to the lovely Kuchiki taicho, our taicho would let him take another breath? Remember, Sotaicho wants Gin _alive_ for questioning.”

“In all honesty, I wasn’t trying to kill Byakuya,” Gin interjected, “I was trying to kill Rukia on Sosuke’s order.”

“SHUT UP!” the two officers shouted together.

“I could leave him alive,” Ikkaku snorted, “and just _wishing_ he was dead!”

“Temper, temper. Don’t get in trouble now. We’ve got a date tonight, remember?” Yumi snickered.

“Heh, right,” Ikkaku agreed, “All right, I’ll let the creepy-eyed freak live a little longer. Probably Central 46 will just execute him later anyway.”

“Probably,” Gin agreed, flinching as Ikkaku snarled at him and clenched a fist, “although, since I didn’t stay dead this time, I wonder if they would be able to kill me if they tried again.”

“You want me to see if you can die if I kill you?” Ikkaku offered, glaring at him, “I’ll be happy to kill you over and over until you stay dead!”

“Wow, you are in an ugly mood today, aren’t you?” Yumi chuckled, “Maybe you should go and wait for Hitsugaya taicho and I’ll sit with Gin.”

“Huh, why don’t you give him a little of the vine treatment?” Ikkaku suggested, “Suck out some reiatsu and leave him a dried out husk.”

“Ooh, you’re scary,” Gin commented, “I think I want to stay with your more civil friend, here.”

“Watch out that he doesn’t stab you in the back, Yumi,” Ikkaku said condescendingly, “He does that a lot.”

Yumichika watched his steamed lover stalk out of the tent, then he turned back to Gin.

“You might want to reconsider fessing up about how you did this. I might not want to kill you on sight, but most of the rest of the Seireitei will.”

“I would be happy to spill my guts if I had any idea what happened,” Gin assured him, “Look at me! I’m covered with dirt, my hair and nails are overgrown. I have been dead and in the ground ever since Rangiku brought me back here. I know you want me to have done it myself, but I assure you, I didn’t. There is nothing I can tell you.”

“Is that right?” Yumi said, moving closer to him and raising his reiatsu, “You know, I want to believe you, but it’s hard to do that, after what you’ve done. Tell you what. I have a little power that Ikkaku doesn’t know I’ve picked up. I’m thinking that…maybe I’ll try it on you and see how far it takes us in getting some answers.”

“Oh, I really don’t like the sound of that,” Gin said, frowning.

“If you think you don’t like it now, just wait until I’m done with…”

“Frosty’s here,” Ikkaku said, reappearing in front of the two, “We’ve been ordered back to base.”

“Oh, and I was just about to have some fun with him,” Yumi complained.

The two fell silent as Toshiro appeared behind Ikkaku, with Rangiku at his side. The taicho and his adjutant moved forward, shaking their heads in wonder at the sight of the silver-haired man.

“I don’t believe it,” Toshiro breathed.

“Gin!” Rangiku gasped, staring at him.

“Hi there,” Gin said, smiling at them, “Thanks for stopping that scary guy from hurting me.”

“Idiots,” Toshiro huffed, “They weren’t supposed to do anything that could keep you from talking.”

“I think they thought that they could beat the answers out of me. I hope you have a little bit gentler way of extracting what you want.”

“Ichimaru Gin,” Toshiro said sternly, “you are under arrest for high treason!”

“Oh bother,” Gin sighed, “here we go again.”

“Is that really unexpected?” Rangiku scolded him.

“Well, no, not really,” Gin chuckled, “But, at least you know what my real intentions were. I do apologize that I was never able to give back what Sosuke stole from you. I really hoped that you would have that part of your soul restored.”

A look of guilt passed over Rangiku’s face.

“Gin, no matter what Aizen took, I didn’t want you to do what you did.”

“I know,” Gin agreed, “and that’s why I’m glad I got to say I’m sorry. I troubled you a lot.”

“You can say that again,” Toshiro said, scowling, “And after you pulled that and then died, she was a complete wreck for a long time.”

“Taicho!” Rangiku objected.

“I’ll say it again,” Gin said, looking up at her, “Sorry, Rangiku. I wish that I could give it back to you. It’s not possible now, but if it ever is.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Rangiku chided him, moving closer, “Gin, I’m just glad you’re alive.”

“I don’t know if it’s a good thing for you.” “Of course it is!” Rangiku insisted, “You know I’ll…”

“No,” Gin said solemnly, “I don’t want you to get involved. I’m sure they made it hard enough for you when you wanted me to be pardoned.”

Rangiku looked down at her hands and said nothing.

“Ah, I was right. In any case, I don’t want you to do anything. Just let them take me to Central 46 to be questioned. I’ll go peacefully.”

“We do have to take you back now,” Toshiro said, rubbing his chin, “But maybe Rangiku should heal you before we leave.”

“I don’t want to bother her with that.”

“Well, it’s regulation that we make sure all prisoners’ wounds are seen to before transporting them back to the Seireitei.”

“Wouldn’t want me to die before they order it, huh?” Gin chuckled.

“You should take this more seriously,” Toshiro said dryly.

Gin frowned and looked closer at the tenth division taicho, noting his taller, more slender body and thicker, slightly longer white hair.

“Whoa! Snowy, look at you!” he laughed, “You’re all grown up. When did this happen?”

“None of your business,” Toshiro snapped, grabbing Gin’s arm and shattering the kido ropes on the man.

All three froze as bright silvery light erupted between Gin and Toshiro, and began to pulsate wildly.

“Wh-what? What is that?” Toshiro gasped, “What the hell is going on here?”


	2. The Resonance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gin and Toshiro get a shocking message that has huge implications for them.

“What are you doing?” Toshiro shouted, staring in dismay as the silvery light wrapped around his body and Gin’s, separating them from everything else around them, “Stop it, right now!”

“I’m not doing anything,” Gin insisted.

“You lying snake!”

“I don’t think he’s lying,” Rangiku said uncertainly, “It doesn’t seem like it came from just of you. It seemed to manifest in both of you.”

“Have you two sensed the source of the light?” Gin asked, “You should know it. It’s been on royal orders sent to the Seireitei before.”

Toshiro frowned and closed his eyes, breathing in slowly and extending his senses to connect with the strange light. His blue eyes widened in distress.

“Is that…?” Rangiku began.

“It is royal power!” he hissed anxiously, “Why is this happening?”

“You’re asking me?” Gin mused, “I’ve been _dead_ until a few hours ago. I’ve got no better way than you to know what’s causing this.”

Toshiro’s angry eyes locked on Gin’s for a moment, as though to read his sincerity. But he could sense nothing in the disheveled former taicho’s reiatsu that could explain what was happening. He relaxed very slightly, keeping an eye on Gin, but also remaining alert as the flare of power settled and all at once, Rangiku collapsed at their feet.

“Rangiku!” the two men exclaimed, starting to go to her.

They were stopped as a deep, male voice sounded in their shocked minds and their bodies were forcefully held in place.

 _Hear me now and do not fail me_ , the voice of the dead king rumbled, _Know that the future of the three worlds rests with you, and if you do not heed my words and act accordingly, our worlds will fall._

Toshiro’s blue eyes fastened on Gin’s as the former taicho’s opened wide.

_Before the first war with the quincies, I was king of the three worlds. With my consort and the help of noble clans, I ruled those worlds, keeping them well for many centuries. But when the first quincy onslaught arrived, I foresaw the fall of my kingdom, and in that time, I had a vision showing me the only path I could take to protect the worlds I created. I am an immortal, and that means I can be reborn. Unfortunately, I was shown in my vision that I could not place my faith in the noble families, not even that of my beloved consort, Kuchiki Hajime. Desperate to protect our future, I cast the king’s prism, the tool by which I can be reborn, into the healing pool. The prism split into two, and it attached itself to two souls. My visions foretold that when the time for my rebirth came, the two souls would recognize each other, and would join to initiate the remaking of my body and powers._

_The two of you are the souls who carry the two halves of the king’s prism._

_You must not let this fact be known. If it becomes known to the noble clans, there are those who will be in a position to thwart my return. Although you cannot be permanently killed while you bear the parts of the prism, once your resonance surfaces and you join to recreate my reiatsu, you will be vulnerable to death. The soul bearing my reiatsu will need the other resonant’s protection._

“But which of us is to be…?” Toshiro began.

He broke off and Gin started to snicker as the answer was revealed into their minds.

“No way!” Toshiro hissed angrily.

“Hmm,” Gin mused, smirking, “I didn’t know I’d been brought back from death for something so important. So very enticing! I’m really flattered, aren’t you?”

“Shut up! This is serious,” Toshiro scolded him.

“I know it is,” Gin laughed, “I just think it’s very amusing I was brought back to…”

“Ugh! Stop it!” Toshiro complained, “That can’t be what he meant. We must have misunderstood.”

“Oh,” Gin giggled, “I don’t think there’s any other way to interpret what we just saw.”

“Stop enjoying this so much!” Toshiro steamed, “You wouldn’t be laughing like that if you were the one to…”

“To bear the king’s reiatsu in his body?” Gin asked, “I think you’re right. But I have the good fortune that the powers that be thought that dying for awhile was punishment enough for me. I don’t really think I’d want to go through what you’re going to have to endure.”

“Please stop reminding me!”

“But it’s so fun to see you blush like this. I think I forgot how cute you are when you’re flustered.”

“You’re enjoying this way too much!” Toshiro shouted, “Stop it. All right?”

Gin started to answer, but he was stopped as the two men sensed the oncoming presence of two powerful taichos.

“Kuchiki and Zaraki,” Toshiro said, frowning, “I don’t think we can afford to let them find us. The message to us clearly said that we have to make sure that the noble clans do not learn what we are doing.”

“You think we can’t trust Byakuya?” Gin asked in a more serious tone, “He’s not exactly like the rest of them, you know.”

“I know,” Toshiro acknowledged, “but Byakuya often goes along with the rules, even when he doesn’t agree with them. While he might overlook Rukia, Renji or Ichigo helping us, he’ll probably not help us, himself, and if he catches us, he’ll probably kill us before we can be given our death sentence from Central 46.”

“It sounds like you’re suggesting that we should get out of here before they arrive,” Gin concluded.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

He bit his lip gently, thinking carefully.

“What’s on your mind?” Gin asked.

“I’m trying to figure out where we can go.”

“Well, if you want my opinion…”

“I don’t!” Toshiro snapped, “We’re not involving Aizen in this! He’d be worse than the noble clans.”

“I wasn’t going to suggest Sosuke,” Gin chuckled, “although he might help us to a point. Do remember, however, that the man did kill me. I don’t think he’d be a good choice.”

“Then, who were you thinking?”

“Who were _you_ thinking?” Gin countered.

“Ugh! Can’t you even give a simple answer to a question?” Toshiro complained, “Just tell me who you think we should go to. We’re out of time. We have to move!”

“Um,” Gin said, tilting his head, “what about Rangiku?”

“I don’t want her involved in this, and if you ever cared for her, you should want her to stay out of it too. Her reiatsu is stable. I think she was just overcome because the king’s message wasn’t meant for her. She’ll be fine, but if we want to be fine, we need to go.”

“All right,” Gin answered, “then I think we should move in the direction of Urahara’s shop in Karakura Town.”

Toshiro gave him a surprised look.

“I was thinking the same thing.”

“Great minds think alike,” Gin laughed.

“I don’t think my mind thinks anything like yours,” Toshiro said, scowling, “It’s just obvious that there aren’t that many people in a position to help us, who would actually help us and not turn us in.”

“I suppose you’re right about that,” Gin agreed.

“Come on!” Toshiro snapped, quickly opening a senkaimon, “They’re almost here.”

The two hurried into the senkaimon and Toshiro hastily closed it behind them.

“Can you flash step?” Toshiro asked.

“Sorry,” Gin said ruefully, “but I’ve been dead for awhile. I can’t use my powers yet…which is going to make it awkward once we…”

“We’re not doing anything until you have some powers!” Toshiro insisted, “I know you can’t flash step, but you’d better run. As soon as Byakuya sees we’re not there, he’s going to think that either you kidnapped me or you brainwashed me and made me help you.”

“I could have seduced you,” Gin teased, “I always kind of thought that would be fun.”

“Shut up!” Toshiro ordered him, grabbing his hand and bringing him into a run as the two felt Byakuya’s reiatsu extending in a searching motion, “Damn! He’s looking for us already. We have to hurry.”

“Well, isn’t Creepy taicho watching the precipice world anyway?” Gin asked as they ran together.

“Actually, when I was stationed in the living world, working with Urahara before, he showed me certain corridors that we could use to avoid detection by the twelfth division.”

“Oh, Frosty, that’s so clever!” Gin exclaimed.

“Don’t call me that!” Toshiro said irritably.

“Sorry. Force of habit. I used to call you that before. Don’t you remember?”

“I _remember_ telling you never to call me that!”

“Ah, well, death can rattle a person’s brain. I’ll try to remember next time.”

“Whatever,” Toshiro snapped, “Come on!”

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya frowned and cast his reiatsu about, giving his comrade a confused look.

“What’s it?” asked Kenpachi, “Got a problem there, princess?”

“I am not now, nor have I ever been, a princess,” Byakuya answered icily, “And it looks like you’ve done the completely expected and messed up the coordinates we were given.”

“Huh? No way. Ikkaku and Yumichika gave me the coordinates. The bastard was here. My guys left him with Hitsugaya and Matsumoto…in that little house over there!” Kenpachi said, pointing, “Come on!”

The two taichos hurried to the house that Zaraki had indicated, and they burst through the door, sliding to a stop as they spotted a collapsed body on the floor.

“It’s Matsumoto fukutaicho,” Byakuya observed, kneeling beside the unconscious officer and quickly checking her vital signs, “She’s just been knocked unconscious.”

“Gin’s work, probably,” Zaraki concluded, “Looks like Toshiro is either his captive, or he is pursuing the bastard.”

“But, if he was pursuing Gin, then we should still pick up his reiatsu,” Byakuya pointed out, “I think he must be Gin’s prisoner.”

Zaraki snickered.

“Weird choice for a hostage. I’d have taken the lady.”

Byakuya frowned thoughtfully.

“Gin would not want to hurt Rangiku, and he knows that we know that,” the noble concluded, “He took Toshiro because he’s not opposed to killing him.”

That means we’d better get off our asses and find them before he kills our comrade,” Zaraki said, looking around, “Any idea which way they went?”

Byakuya closed his eyes, breathing slowly for several long minutes.

“One of them opened a senkaimon,” the noble concluded.

“Then, Kurotsuchi should be able to figure where they went,” Zaraki replied.

“Let’s head back,” Byakuya suggested, “We need to report Gin’s escape and the abduction of Hitsugaya taicho!”

XXXXXXXXXX

Kuchiki Tetsuya felt life coming back into his plundered body, and he opened his pretty blue eyes to find Urahara Kisuke, naked and stretched out beside him on the shopkeeper’s bed.

“Mornin’ beautiful,” Kisuke giggled, “You were sleeping pretty deeply there. You feeling all right?”

Tetsuya glanced at the clock and made a sound of alarm.

“What’s wrong?” Kisuke asked, reaching for him as Tetsuya jumped out of the bed and began to dress hastily.

“What’s wrong?” Tetsuya repeated, giving him a stymied look, “I wasn’t supposed to stay so long! My cousin only sent me to make contact with you…”

“Well,” Kisuke said, grinning widely, “you certainly did that!”

“ _About the reiatsu disturbance in the Rukongai_!” Tetsuya said sternly, “I should have been back last night! I didn’t mean to fall asleep in your bed.”

“Well, after a performance like that, you kinda needed the rest,” Kisuke snickered, “I think we both did.”

“I don’t think you understand the seriousness of this,” Tetsuya complained, “The elders just announced my betrothal to the heir of the Saito clan!”

“Yeah, but you didn’t want to marry that guy, right?” Kisuke mused.

“No, of course not,” Tetsuya answered, “but there’s no choice, because our clans are at odds and it was a way to try to encourage peace. Takehiko-sama took a liking to me. Me being made his clan wife will soothe him, and we may be able to avoid war.”

“Look, Tetsuya, you were the one crying last night about this. I know you don’t want it to happen. If you did, I don’t think you would have accepted my comfort so readily last night.”

“You got me drunk!”

“Drunk? You weren’t drunk,” Kisuke laughed, “You only had one drink, Tetsuya.”

Tetsuya gave an aggravated sigh.

“Unfortunately, that is all it takes to make me drunk.”

Kisuke’s jovial look faded.

“Are you being serious?” he asked, “You were really drunk? I thought you were joking with me.”

“No!” Tetsuya exclaimed, “I am serious. I get drunk on one drink. I just wasn’t in a frame of mind to tell you that.”

“Geez,” the shopkeeper said, looking crestfallen, “Does that mean…you really didn’t want to go to bed with me last night?”

Tetsuya read the hurt on Kisuke’s face and swiftly backpedaled.

“No! I…I did want to go to bed with you!” he insisted, “It’s just that if I’d been in my right mind, I would have stopped myself, because I would have remembered what trouble it would cause.”

“What trouble is that?” Kisuke asked, giving him a sad look, “You don’t have to tell him, if you don’t want to. I won’t say anything, if it’s going to get you into trouble, Tetsuya. I don’t want to do that.”

Tetsuya sighed and shook his head.

“I’m really sorry, Urahara-san. I feel terrible for leading you on.”

“Whoa!” Kisuke complained, “Now, you’re using formal titles with me?”

“I’m supposed to be marrying someone else!” Tetsuya reminded him, “It’s not proper to call you by your first name.”

“Tetsuya, look,” Kisuke said, climbing out of the bed and slipping warm arms around him, “maybe you should reconsider this marriage. I mean, I know Takehiko. He’s no prince. I’m a little worried he might not be good to you. You deserve to be with someone you lo…well, with someone you want to be with.”

“I know,” Tetsuya agreed, leaning into the elder man’s embrace, “and if it could be in any way possible, I wish that I could be with you.”

Kisuke’s smile slowly returned.

“No one has ever been like you were with me. NO one ever made me feel that loved! I’m afraid,” Tetsuya confessed, “I know what’s expected of me, and maybe Takehiko-sama will be as bad you say. But what would I tell Byakuya-sama? How could I defy him like that, after all he has done for me?”

Kisuke hugged him tightly, stealing a few more desperate kisses.

“I’m not gonna put pressure on you to do that,” he said quietly, “I love you, Tetsuya, and if I need show that to you by stepping back, then I will.”

Tears rolled down Tetsuya’s pale face as they kissed on more time. Kisuke’s hand slid down to take his, but as it moved, it brushed against Tetsuya’s soft belly, and a little pink glow flared up in the area. Tetsuya and the shopkeeper stared in stunned surprise.

“But…we used a protective kido!” Tetsuya whispered, going sheet white.

“I guess since we were drunk, we didn’t do it right,” Kisuke concluded, “cause from what I see, it looks like we got you pregnant last night.”

“Oh my god!” Tetsuya whimpered, touching his hand to the area and swallowing hard, “Byakuya-sama is absolutely going to _kill_ you!”


End file.
